Breathing

Well, it’s been awhile. Hope everyone’s doing well.  You need to know (if you’re wondering why there’s nothing so little new content here)  that I subscribed to the volunteered slavery of research. I'm loving it, but it is super  time-consuming. One day I'll publish something helpful to society, you never know,  something like this little piece from my friend.  But more about me. I’m still in practice, and being fairly certain that the State of Illinois  still demands continuing education to stay licensed, I took another course on  Mindfulness. Naturally that led to a hack, a quick and easy way to get people to do it.  Then, in the process of recommending that to people, I realized that my hack was  working as well as anything that I had learned in the class. So when that happens,  as it probably does with many of us, for sure with me, you know, I started telling  everyone. Everyone. (It has to be boring to be my friend.) And then I thought of you. In a word, neglected. The original book on mindfulness and psychology, Kabat-Zinn’s Full Catastrophe Living,  suggests, among many other things (it is a good read) 3 minutes a day of mindful breathing.  There are different ways to do it, according to the continuing ed program, like there’s  Lion Breathing, and Ocean Breathing. Ocean breathing is cool because you simulate the sound of the ocean. Anyway, I found myself copying those different breathing instructions and  recommending them to patients— just about anyone who desperately needed to  calm down. That would be 3/4 of my buddies. Except they didn’t do it. Maybe they tried it once or twice.  I said, “You don’t have to do it for 3 minutes. Do it for 30 seconds.” Didn’t happen. Maybe one person did that. And of course it helped her, and  she's continuing and doing much better. I would say, this isn’t going to help you for 3-6 months, but the sooner you get onto it,  the sooner it will help you. It will help you more than you can possibly realize.  This I knew from personal experience. But the crazy thing was that  I never did the 3 minutes. That could be why it took me so long, not sure.  That would make sense. The 3-6 month thing could be true, or could be a paradox. I might have made it up. I didn't finish Full Catastrophe Living, truth told, it was due at the library. But here’s the thing. That hack is helpful, and I knew that, so I tried it with patients.  I told people— anyone who would suffer the lecture-- Don’t worry how you breathe.  Don’t worry when or how often or for how long. Just throw it into something you do,  your life. Concentrate, becoming aware of your breath. Do it while washing dishes,  or standing in line at the grocery store. Do it while waiting, waiting for anything,  a bus, an appointment. Don’t worry about technique. You breathe just fine. You're good! Quit judging how well you do it. It’s all good! If you feel dizzy,  make sure that your inhale and exhale are equal, say a count of 4 on each or 5, 6,  any number, any count, and it need not be the same count. You can count 3, then 5,  then 10, whatever. Doesn't matter. Keep it comfortable. Go with how your lungs  are feeling. Just notice it, feel it. Feel your lungs, too. Do it while you’re exercising, do it while you’re cooking. Do it before sleeping or  while your boss is criticizing you. Do it in the shower, on an airplane, do it when  you’re bored. Do it before you check your messages or email, or social media.  Do it while you're social networking. Do it while making love.  Take a few seconds to notice that you are doing all that it takes, the only thing  it takes, the only requirement, for being alive.  To life, and if we don't talk before the holidays, Happy New Year.  therapydoc. ReplyForward